Cooling unit for a tobacco pipe



Sept. 13, 1960 A. F. TERENZI COOLING UNIT FOR A TOBACCO PIPE Filed March6, 1958 INVENTOR. Alfred E Tare/12 flTTOE/VEYS United States Patent Thepresent invention relates to tobacco pipes and more particularly to themaintaining of the tobacco burning and the adjacent portion of the pipecool during smoking to increase the enjoyment of smoking.

A conventional pipe consists of a bowl having a stem extending therefromwith a passageway in the stem communicating with the interior'of thebowl at the bottom thereof. Tobacco is put into the bowl, ignited andburnt from the top downwardly. Normally, when smoking, the heat from theburning tobacco increases the tem perature of the unburnt portion of thetobacco in the bowl to a point at which the tars, gums and othermaterials in the tobacco will be driven from the unburnt tobacco to forma sticky sludge on the interior of the bowl. This tobacco sludge has aparticularly unpleasant flavor when it is drawn through the stern andafter a number of smokes a sufiicient amount is accumulated in the bowlwhich renders the pipe unpleasant to smoke.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling unit formaintaining the tobacco containing portion of the pipe cool duringsmoking to prevent the formation of the tobacco sludge.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a unit of theabove type which is capable of being easily attached to and removed froma pipe.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a unit of theabove type which does not hinder the pleas ure and enjoyment derivedfrom a pipe.

In carrying out the instant invention to attain the above ob ects, thecooling unit of the present invention pro- Vides for containing acoolant in heat exchanging relation with the pipe bowl to maintain thepipe bowl cool. To this end the unit consists of a flexible andresilient hollow member which is adapted to encircle the major portionof the pipe bowl and a portion of the extending stem. This member has achamber which is larger than the part of the pipe enclosed by it andwithin the chamber there is contained a coolant, such as water, forabsorbing the heat from the pipe bowl and thus maintaining the pipe bowlat a relatively low temperature. In addition the hollow member isprovided with an aperture in which a plug is positioned to provide forthe introduction and the exit of the coolant.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a pipe with the cooling unitattached thereon with the unit shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view partially in section of the unit taken on the line2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cooling unit, removed from the pipe.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. l a pipe generallyindicated by the reference numeral 10 having the cooling unit 11 of thepresent invention mounted thereon with a liquid coolant such as water 12contained within the pnit and in contact with the enclosed portion ofthe pipe. The pipe 10 has a mouthpiece 13 connected to a stem 14 whichis integral with a tobacco containing-burning hollow bowl 15 in thewell;- known manner. A conduit 16 extends from the mouthpiece andthrough the stem for communication with the bottom interior of the bowl15 to permit the sucking of smoke from the bowl to the mouthpiece.Filtering de- "vices, if desired, may be positioned in the mouthpiece.

Referring to the figures, the cooling unit of the present inventioncomprises a hollow substantially spherical member 17 formed with threeapertures, a bowl encircling aperture 18, a stem encircling aperture 19and a coolant filling aperture 20. Fitted into the aperture 20 is a plug21 for closing the aperture to prevent the escape of the coolant.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the cooling unit 11 is attached to the pipe10 so that a substantial portion of the bowl 15 and a short length ofthe stem 14 is enclosed within a chamber 22. of the member 17. Themember 17 is formed of material which is flexible and resilient and alsoliquid containing such as rubber or rubber-like material. To positionthe unit 11 on the pipe, the pipe mouthpiece 13 is first placed throughthe aperture 18 and then passed through the aperture 19 and then it ispushed and relatively twisted through the aperture 19 until it assumesthe position shown. The aperture 18 is somewhat smaller than thediameter of the part of the bowl which it rings and hence the bowldeforms that portion of the member 17 adjacent the aperture 18 to causea sufiiciently liquid-tight engagement between the pipe and the member.This is also true with regard to the stem 14 and the stern encirclingaperture 19.

It will be appreciated that the liquid pressure within the chamber 20 isso small as to be substantially nonexistent and hence a careful sealbetween the member 17 and the pipe need not be eifectuated. It will beappreciated that though the member 17, by being formed of resilientmaterial, enables sufficient sealing between the pipe and the member tobe created merely by slight de-' formation of the member.

In use, with a coolant such as water contained in the chamber '22 andtobacco being burnt in the bowl 15, the liquid 12 contacts the exteriorof the pipe bowl to maintain the temperature of the bowl relatively lowwhich prevents the bowl from attaining a temperature which wouldnormally drive the tars and other substances out of the unburnt portionof the tobacco to create the heretofore referred to tobacco sludge.Accordingly, using the present invention, the tobacco burns with an evenash with the maintaining of the unburnt portion of the tobacco at atemperature which prevents separation of the tars, etc. therefrom. Thusa pipe may be smoked many times more than heretofore possible beforeacquiring, if at all, the strong taste due to the tobacco sludge. If itis desired to remove the liquid 12 from the hollow member 17, the plug21 is removed and the hollow member 17 squeezed to drive the liquid out.Though, of course, if the aperture 19 were sufficiently large the liquidwould drain out of its own weight rather than requiring it to be forcedout.

It will be appreciated that while there has been disclosed a coolingunit for a pipe with the pipe having a stem extending perpendicularlyfrom the bowl portion, the cooling unit is capable of being utilized onpipes in which the stem extends at a difierent angle from the bowl.Accordingly for a type of pipe shown, the axis of the aperture 18 is atright angles to the axis of the aperture 19. Moreover, for convenience,the plug 21 is located opposite the aperture 18 at the bottom portion ofthe unit. Though, of course, it may be located at a different positionif desired. Naturally if the pipe stem and bowl were at a differentangle, the angle between the apertures 18 and 19 will also be diiferent.Moreover it is contemplated to make the member 17 of suf- I t t 1 3ficiently resilient material that it can be deformed to fit pipes withdifferent angles between the stem and bowl.

The hollow member 17 is shown as being spherical though other shapes maybe used if desired provided there is a chamber having the requisitevolume to enclose both the tobacco burning portion of the pipe and thequantity of liquid necessary to keep the temperature of the pipe bowllow.

It will thus be appreciated that there has been disclosed a cooling unitfor a pipe which eifectively encloses the tobacco burning portion of apipe to maintain it at a low temperature and hence prevent the formationof tobacco sludge.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimand portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

In combination with a tobacco pipe having a tobacco burning bowl and astem having a smoke passage therein extending therefrom, a flexible andresilient cooling unit surrounding the bowl and the adjacent portion ofthe stem and liquid containing a coolant for maintaining the bowl andthe smoke in the stem passage adjacent said bowl cool when burningtobacco therein, said unit comprising a hollow member having a chambersufliciently large to enclose a major portion of the pipe bowl, saidmember having three apertures formed therein, one of said aperturesadapted to ring an upper portion of the pipe bowl, another of saidapertures adapted to ring a portion of the stem, and a plug for thethird aperture, said cooling device being adapted to be filled with aliquid coolant through the third aperture, said unit being deformable sothat the bowl may be slipped through the one aperture and the stem andmouthpiece may he slipped through said another and said one aperture toremove the said unit from the pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS980,551 Noble Ian. 3, 1911 1,142,998 Turner June 15, 1915 1,244,510Barnby Oct. 23, 1917 1,817,257 Kimberling' Aug. 4, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS1,456 Great Britain 1867 413,661 Great Britain July 18, 1934 728,885France Apr. 18, 1932

